The collection of practical all movements that you do electronically. Equipment typically used is smartphones computers cars (GPS) but also fixed electronic devices in your home that have internet access. Traffic control devices like speed control cameras or passing of electronic checkpoints with your car.
The face recognition is not the only software to recognize you - your license plate can be linked to you(r face) within seconds.
This is done by many countries in the EU and also by the US.
These data are also referred to as Metadata and are retained and can be looked into when the need occurs.
It is referred to as the EU data retention in Europe - and has been ruled illegal in Germany (as a violation of both the German constitution and the Human rights).
There are different rules on when these data are to be deleted and the supervision of it, but it appears that all western countries accept that these data should be deleted at some point.
Example of data that are stored.
- Who is calling or texting who
When they are calling/texting
Where they are calling from
Your location at any given time.
(based on the constant exchange of signals between your smart-device and the nearest base station/tower - even if you do not actively use the device. Your Longitude and latitude will be saved approximately 35000 times in a time span of 6 months.)
Your IP address that works like an identification number of you - even if it is unreliable.
Your address based on the IP
When you log in out of the internet
What kind of internet connection you have and what equipment you are using
Senders and receivers of e-mails will be stored and also when the emails were sent.
What OS you use
These data can be used to make animated maps like this:
http://www.zeit.de/datenschutz/malte-spitz-vorratsdaten
That visually show this guys whereabouts for 6 months including train rides and exact addresses he has visited.
If you want to know where he was on the 13.10 -2009 at 12 o'clock just point at it and click.
This is not PRISM
These data have the weakness that we cannot see the content of the communication only the existence of it and who you are communicating with etc.
And it does not cover social media.
This is where PRISM comes in:
By now most of your movements and communications are covered.
Data within the country are subject to this. In the case of the US much of the worlds communication passes through American servers and are caught up by these systems:
The data are collected via Network tap meaning that the Government is connecting to the cables and fiber-optics and tap the data directly from there without disturbing the normal network traffic.
The ISP's and important Internet companies are also required to cooperate and deliver data.
